On the contrary, this is the kind of situation a self-driving car can (eventually) handle quite smoothly, by closely monitoring the speed of all the vehicles ap

On the contrary, this is the kind of situation a self-driving car can (eventually) handle quite smoothly, by closely monitoring the speed of all the vehicles approaching from behind, estimate how likely each driver is paying attention (by drawing a graph of speed/position in, say, 15 seconds), and if collision is likely, either accelerate away or flash break light rapidly to warn the driver behind. All these things are near impossible to an average human driver, but there's no reason why an AI would have more trouble looking behind than forward. * If there are enough self-driving cars, it will also (hopefully) teach those drivers who feel entitled to go 90mph at 3am that tailgating is no longer a working strategy.